Monday 17 October 2011

reunited


I did it.

I made it to the school reunion.
I had extremely low expectations, but they were blown right away. I had a ball, in fact I was with the last few people to leave. The fellow colleague I'd had huge issues with some 15 years ago came directly up to me and apologised for her behaviour back then. I wasn't sure how things would go there, so it was extremely refreshing and quite fun. There were some really interesting people with whom I could have chatted individually for a whole evening, and some amazing life stories. Of course not everyone was completely engaging, but people were generally a whole lot more mature and more outwardly focussed. It was of course punctuated by me coming out multiple times, which some people had to take a little moment to compute. I got more attention from the girls than I ever did, which was fun, as with their compliments. I left with a sense of warmth from people who actually gave a damn.

I'm very glad I went. I'd sworn never to go to another school reunion.
Changing one's mind isn't always a bad thing.

Friday 7 October 2011

It's My High School Reunion

The last high school reunion I attended was hideous. I couldn't get away fast enough, literally. I wanted to leave but was driving my good friend who, very unusually, got drunk, was less inclined to leave and blah blah I got home later and more infuriated than ever. The people there reverted to their high school personas and maturity and one previously good friend treated me as if I was not even in the room. Flabbergastingly childish. We've not spoken since, her choice. There were, I recall, two women with whom I chatted who were standouts from that crowd. They had both married early, had kids, worked and studied all at the same time, and were switched on and real. They were the only saving grace. The bimbo women who battered their eyelashes and giggled about how much work it must have been for me to study medicine et al, bored me to tears, as did the men's bravado about who achieved what materially in their lives.

"Never again", I said.

I lied.



I have accepted the invitation to the follow up reunion some 15 years later. This time I'm hopeful some of those missing from the earlier reunion will enlighten my opinions, and perhaps a good dose of maturity might enter the room this time. Though I'm setting my expectations to basement on this one. The chosen restaurant is not bad, so at worst it's an ok meal with bad company, many of whom have no name embedded in my memory. I'm curious if the woman who has chosen not to speak to me for over 15 years will be there and if so will she make eye contact? My good friend who got drunken and disorderly last time has his act in gear and will be a fun sparring partner I expect this time. I'm not taking The Frenchman, as I love him to much to force this upon him. It would be quite the coming out event though if he did accompany me though as most won't know I'm gay (I assume). So I'll be flying under the radar, and that can be fun. I really don't care what people think any more. I'm more interested in finding out out the paths people have taken in lives less ordinary, and I believe there might be a few of those, though if truly wise they probably won't be there.